Royal Pride (Leona Kingscholar/Yuu)

17 ~ Working A Shift

"Order for table #6!" Yuu called, working a shift at the Mostro Lounge. As much as she would rather be anywhere else, she had to get her two weeks out of the way as soon as possible so she could get her information.

The Lounge had had a boom in popularity since last year, so things were a lot more stressful for the employees. There were more people to serve, more dishes to clean, more business in general.

Thankfully, Ruggie was with her today too, and he was a very good worker, making this shift easier than some of her earlier ones when it had just been the usual staff and her.

Things were busy enough as it was, but there was an unexpected boom in people, specifically Heartslabyul students. And they didn't seem to be there to order.

"Hey, what's got you all so panicked?" Yuu asked one of the students adorned in red who was in the middle of catching their breath, placing her hand on their shoulder.

"It's the Housewarden!"

Yuu tensed up. This caught Ruggie's attention as well, and he paused what he was doing to listen in. "What about Riddle?"

"He's Overblotted! The Headmage evacuated most of us, and some of us fled here in case he came after us..."

She quickly retracted her arm. "Thanks," she said shortly before running over to Azul's office.

"My, aren't you supposed to be on the job? What's got you all flustered?" He greeted, hardly looking up from his papers.

Yuu gripped the doorframe. "Can I cut my shift early? I'll come in to make up for my hours tomorrow."

"What for?"

"Riddle's Overblotted."

He paused for a second. "Interesting. But tell me, Yuu, what does that have to do with either of us?"

"He's my friend! And what if they're not able to stop him?"

"I'm afraid that bears no impact on any of us at the Lounge. If you cut this shift, I'll have you work an extra week of unpaid labor."

She clenched her teeth, knowing that Azul wasn't just talking. 'I'm sure it'll be fine. The Headmage is stronger than him. Plus, Trey and Cater are pretty strong, too. I'm sure it'll be fine.' She thought all of these things to comfort herself, but she was still immensely worried for Riddle.

Ruggie put a hand on her shoulder, a comforting gesture. Though all of the second-years were 'friends' the year prior, it only seemed like a few of them (namely her and Kalim) really cared and remembered that.

"Tell Leona I'm gonna visit Riddle," she told Ruggie as soon as their shift ended. She heard that he was alright and resting in the infirmary, but she still wanted to check in. She'd been meaning to check in before the Overblot, anyway.

She rapped her hand on the door a few times before entering. There were a few other students, probably in there after getting into fistfights. Scanning the room, she noticed Riddle in one of the beds at the very corner, accompanied by Trey.

"Hey, how're you feeling?" She asked softly, sitting down on a still next to his bed.

His eyes were red and puffy, and she felt a sympathetic pang in her heart. Overblot only happened with emotions running high, and Riddle must've finally let out all he'd been bottling up. Though that doesn't really excuse the fact that he hurt people, she still felt pity for him.

"I've been better," he said hoarsely, his voice near a whisper. Trey gave her a gentle smile. "He's kind of out of it, so he probably won't want to talk much."

She nodded. "Just wanted to come by and let you know that I've been worried about you, okay?" She directed towards Riddle, noticing that he probably did want some space.

"...Thank you," he spoke in a faint, hushed tone, bringing a smile to her face as she exited the infirmary.